Anybody have experience with... - Page 1

Hello,

I am new to this and this is my first post on this web-site. I'm about to purchase a puppy and I wanted to know some input from people.

I have questions for people who had either experience or knowledge about von der haus gill kennel. I am thinking of getting a puppy from there out of the Bonnie/Racker litter real soon.

So far they've been nothing but nice to me. they're very respectful, knowledable, and very helpful with anything I wanted to know. They have also very beautiful dogs and they seem very family oriented and care for these dogs a lot. They also have a training facility there and train with dogs and also Police officers.

I just wanted to know some experiences that people had with them and what they think about the kennel. They're located in Ohio, which is a few hours away from me. I am pretty sold on getting a puppy from them and I am really excited. But I just wanted also to see what people think of the kennel or if anybody had experience with the kennel.

I appreciate all the help and time.

Best Regards,

Good or bad, I suspect folks won't want to answer your post because there's some kind of new "rule" against discussing particular kennels. 

Maybe someone with some knowledge of the bloodlines can help ya out.  I'm a novice, too. 

Good working dog kennel, good working dogs.  Some people prefer breeders who do less breeding, but I haven't heard anything bad about them.  Well, one drawback I heard is that they are not always great about HEARING YOUR NEEDS, so I will help you with that.

First, if a novice, are you sure you want a working dog?  Are they videotaping the puppy tests, or sending you notes on the litter, so you can make a smart choice?  Presumably as a newbie you want Volhard 3's and 4's.  A hyped up puppy won't do you any good, and neither will a hyped up puppy missing a key drive or, worse, submissive.  I asume that what you want is a middle to low drive puppy with eye contact and a tranquil, confident disposition.  But whatever it is, make sure he knows your needs, and have him repeat your needs to you and show how he is thinking about YOU (not just how he thought -- past tense -- about the breeding, which I suspect he did quite well).


http://www.workingdogs.com/testing_volhard.htm

One more thing: never trust a breeder who cannot differentiate one puppy from another, including the breeder who likes to claim that this particular breeding is so uniform he cannot tell the puppies apart.  That sentence means only one thing: run!

A good breeder can point to a puppy who might be good for you AND point to a puppy who might not be good for you.

Hey,

I appreciate your input and help. This will be my first german shepherd so I want to make sure everything will go right and I won't run into problems some where down the line.

If anything, anybody with information can write me a PM if it is against the rules to write about kennels on this site. I'd appreciate any help.

As far as working dogs - I had a few big breeds growing up the most that stands out is my imported caucasian ovcharka, who sadly passed away 2 years ago. He was a handful and had a lot of power but we socialized him when he was very young with a lot of different things and to tell you the truth he was very obedient and we trained him very well. So it won't be a problem handling a german shepherd.

Thanks again in advance!

sent you a PM

Check the Buyer Beware thread.

Look back on this forum a page or two and find the topic titled "Buyer Beware". While not specific, it can help you by providing a lot of good ideas about what someone should and should not look for when buying a pup from a breeder. It is always best if you are first prepared so you know 1) what you really want to do with the, 2) are honest about your experience level, and 3) know something about what is involved in buying a pup.  Remember, buying pups is not always cut and dried and as simple as it seems. As has been stated on this forum over and over, buying pups is a crap shoot. There are many opportunities for things to not go as planned.

I do not know this breeder.

I don't know any reason why not to buy this puppy personally. They apparetnly produce a LOT of pups, but if there was anything untoward about their practices we probably would have heard about it by now on this board. I am assuming they have enough help to properly care for and socialize all those dogs and puppies... The parents are both titled (breed surveyed?). the litter is a complete outcorss, DDR x West German, so consisitency in the litter might be variable, but a good breeder will help you pick they right pup for your needs, experience and lifestyle.

I probably should have paid more attention when MVF performed the tests on my litter. I've always just gone with instinct, right MOST of the time. The only time I am wrong, for some reason is when I keep one back for myself. LOL

Good luck with your pup!
SS

Get a puppy contract and read the whole thing twice and or take it to your lawyer, before putting any money down.

Make sure you have a health guarentee for all genitic health issues - megasphsigus, EPI, hip/ elbow/ thyroid/ heart / blindness, etc. and the guarentee is for at least 26 months. This gives you a two months of over laping time as the OFA doesn't accept "perminent" X-rays prior to 24 months, if the guarentee is for only 24 months, you may have to get 2 sets of x-rays one for your guarentee, and one for the OFA...

Make sure that the guarentee is for documented genitic abnormalities, not just abnormalities that are symptomatic.
A dog, especially a GSD with HD can hide it for many years...yet breeding it would be unethical.

Make sure you can live with either switching the dog, getting a replacement for half the price or whatever is stipulated on the guarentee.......... then expect to uphold your end of written contract.